1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates generally to umbilicals employed in subsea development projects, and more specifically, to a solution for connecting an umbilical to another device, such as a second umbilical or an umbilical termination assembly.
2. Description of the Related Art
Subsea oil and gas fields often employ subsea well equipment that is located on the seabed and tied back to a surface structure, such as a production facility and/or ship. An umbilical is often used to convey fluids and/or send electrical and other communication signals between the surface structure and the subsea well equipment. The umbilical can be many miles long with large and heavy end terminations, making it difficult to handle and/or deploy.
Over time, the length and weight of umbilicals has continued to increase. As a result of the increased size, the transportation and installation of the umbilicals is becoming more and more difficult. For example, in some cases it may be difficult to locate an available sea-going vessel that has the capacity to ship and install a very large umbilical.
A known solution for handling a very long umbilical includes cutting the umbilical and installing a subsea umbilical termination assembly (“SUTA”) on one end and a Cobra Head on the other end. The connections between each end of the umbilical and the SUTA and Cobra Head are generally made in the factory by, for example, welding. The two umbilical segments with the attached SUTA and Cobra Head can then be separately transported to the deployment site and connected. This approach has a number of disadvantages, including that the on-site connection of the two segments of the umbilical with a SUTA and Cobra Head is performed below the surface of the ocean using an ROV. Furthermore, the SUTA and Cobra Head equipment is costly and often requires several months to manufacture.
FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a SUTA 10 connected to an umbilical 20. SUTA 10 can be relatively large, often weighing several thousand pounds. It is known to connect the umbilical 20 and SUTA 10 using a connection assembly comprising a split barrel 30, an armor pot assembly 40, and one or more bend restrictor clamps 50, all of which can be bolted together. Because of the size and weight of the SUTA, packing and handling during transportation and deployment of the umbilicals can be difficult. Additionally, the connection between the umbilical and SUTA can potentially be a weak point during transportation of the unit to the deployment site. Consequently, damage can occur at the connection, which can result in the need for costly repairs.
The present disclosure is directed to overcoming, or at least reducing the effects of, one or more of the issues set forth above.